Standing Up to Old Bullies: Lynda Frederick had been bullied in high school. Now 25 years later, she faces her enemies again—this time on her terms.

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Standing Up to Old Bullies

Lynda Frederick had been bullied in high school. Now 25 years later, she faces her enemies again—this time on her terms.

Allison J. Althoff

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Wow, that's a powerful poem. What happened after you posted it?

Things went absolutely nuts. One of my classmates decided she wanted to get me out to California for our 25th reunion, so they raised enough money to fly me there. I couldn't believe it, but I told myself, Okay, I can do this.

When they were raising the money, somebody mentioned it to the news media in San Diego. So when a reporter called, I didn't think much of it really, so I did a phone interview with them. The next thing I knew I got calls from all over the place—I even had the Oprah show call me.

Then Arnold Shapiro from GMC TV called me and suggested an appearance in which I meet and confront my classmates and talk to them about forgiveness. I'd seen some of his shows and knew they were quality, so I agreed. My kids were like, "Mom, you're a celebrity!" but I thought, Oh my, let me curl up under my rock where I belong, okay?

What was it like to go back to your high school after 25 years?

At first I was nervous and shy; I didn't know what to do. Finally I said, Forget this. I'm just gonna open up and go with it.

I actually had classmates come up to me and hug me—people who'd been snots to me in high school. A lot of them knew I was coming because they'd donated money to fly me out. It was amazing; at the end of the evening I walked out feeling a big weight lift off my shoulders. It was great.

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